Double Binds Present In Childrens Books

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There are many double binds, dualisms, and constructs that try to limit what and what not women should do in today’s culture. The Binds That Tie by Kathleen Jamieson and Male Is to Female as ____ is to ____ by Katheryn Cirksena and Lisa Cuklanz both talk about these binds and dualisms . Binds are present in almost all forms of present media. In this paper, I will take the children’s book Elephant Eats the Profits by Jacquelyn Reinach and analyze three specific binds that the main character, Enormous Elephant, is subjected to. These binds are mind and body, public and private, and femininity and competency.
Katheryne Cirksena and Lisa Cuklanz identify mind and body as a dualism of western thought. Enormous Elephant is subjected to this dualism. The mind and body dualism, according to Katherine Cirksena and Lisa Cuklanz is the belief that women are less evolved. They are also “both less intellectually capable and more closely tied to the animal and natural world” (Cirkensena, Cuklanz 33). Another point of the mind and body dualism is that women’s role should consist of childbearing and care taking. It is the male’s who are supposed to encompass “all activities thought to constitute culture including art, architecture, music, finance, skilled and unskilled trade, industry, and politics” (Cirkensena, Cuklanz 34). Basically, women are portrayed as uncreative, un-intellectual, and incapable of success outside of the home. It is supposed to be the men who take care of everything else. Women are also expected to achieve ideal body weight and appearance. This is so they can find a man who will provide for them so they can stay at home. Enormous Elephant is a perfect example of all of these points. She is a single women who lives on her own. She owns a market, but it is close to going out of business. Ironically it is about to go out of business because her obsession is cooking and eating. She spends all of her...